Some babies are born with skeletal abnormalities as for example in the hands, feet and in other important parts of the body such as a child's shoulders, arms, hands and fingers, their legs, knees and neck etc. In such cases, it is desirable to correct the abnormality by biasing a limb or appendage toward the correct position.
Corrections of skeletal abnormalities of important parts of the human body by orthopedic devices have been done for many years. For example, a Toe Straightening Device is disclosed in a U.S. Patent of Marcus that issued in 1962 U.S. Pat. No. 3,049,120. As disclosed therein, the device consists of a structure for the toe of a foot and particularly for the largest toe in order to reposition the toe into a normal position.
A more recent U.S. Patent of Dieterich U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,359 discloses an orthopedic sandal for the correction of hammer toes and Hallux Valgus (X-toe). The sandal includes a lever arm extending along the longitudinal axis of the sole of a sandal and being pivotally connected to the sole in its rearward portion. A toe holding bar for pressing the toes downward is connected to the free end of the lever arm and various embodiments of mechanisms for moving the large toe medially for correcting Hallux Valgus are operatively associated with the lever arm. Further mechanisms for stretching the large toe in conjunction with the intermittent treatment of the Hallux Valgus are operatively interconnected with the mechanisms for moving the large toe medially.
A much more recent U.S. Patent of Bonutti U.S. Pat. No. 8,251,934 relates to Orthosis and Method for Cervical Mobilization issued on Aug. 28, 2012. As disclosed a neck brace to move a neck of a person or stabilize the neck includes connecting a vest to the neck brace to a torso of a person. A support member of the neck brace is connected to the vest. A chin support of the neck brace is connected to a chin of the person. Force is applied between the support member and the chin support to move the chin support relative to the support member. A cam member of the neck brace guides movement of the chin support relative to the support member.
The above are examples of a plurality of patents directed to correcting abnormalities in the shoulder, arm, knee, foot and toes as well as hands and fingers. Nevertheless, to the best of Applicant's knowledge there are no presently available devices that are specifically designed for newborn human babies within a few hours of birth. It is now believed that applying specially designed orthopedic devices for human babies that are only a few hours old will provide a more immediate correction to such abnormalities. Accordingly, it is believed that there is a need including a demand on a commercial level for the devices and methods in accordance with the present invention.